". . . if you don't hear yourself write"

      "How are you going to know what you are thinking if you don't hear yourself talk?"  So the late Dr. Vernon Wall, my counselor back in the 1970's sometimes challenged his introverted client (me).  And even now as a therapist, I am sometimes surprised by something that I didn't know that I thought until I heard myself saying it.

      Sometimes writing can provide the same kinds of awareness.  Vernon invited me to write an interpretive narrative of my life . . . all 38 years of it at the time. Didn't know I thought some of those things til I saw them on paper. (No PC's then) Though that document has been sparingly shared with others, it still remains somewhere  within the 'archives'.  Not exactly a blog by any stretch . . . although  occasionally I see things on internet blogs that seem to me to be much more personal and appropriately private.

     Writing a blog for a bit more than two years, I often wonder about my "why's" : 'it is less expensive than therapy'; it provides an opportunity for  'thinking aloud'; and there are family stories that I can share with my contemporaries as well as 'the next generation'.  And, occasionally, I receive feedback indicating that particularities in my writing resonate with someone else's experiences.

   From curiosity, I put my search engine on various kinds of blogs ... by states, regions, professions,  interests, etc. There are blogs about: food, cooking, camping, midlife, aging, . . . Noting all those writers, I wondered 'who is reading this stuff ?'  And, Wikipedia has an entry about the history of the  Blog.

   Currently, I read a dozen or so blogs. Some authors are kinspersons or friends.  A few  I have just stumbled upon.  In no particular order, here are those that I read with some consistency:

   .Clear Eyes, Full Heart, Grace as it finds me.  My colleague, Russell Jones.

   .johnbrowe.com ...Dreams and Other Mysteries. By a former colleague

   .jmh4043.blogspot.com ... "a blog about personal dimensions of learning, schooling, home and family life." I wish he posted more often.

    ."Blogger:UserProfile:RisingSong".  I located this one while searching "EMDR blogs" since I use EMDR as a modality for treating trauma.  Note: this person sometimes tells her recovery experiences in rather direct narrative. 

   .burrissblog.wordpress.com  by a pastor whom I know. His reflections on Christian faith and life.

   .CaringBridge.org.  Site for Kirstin Hoff.  My daughter's account of her battle with breast cancer.

   .www.edwardhays.com/haystack-blog. "haphazard thoughts on the invisible and visible mysteries of life"

   .http://swimmingwithoutthemanual.com.  A single mom's experiences.

   .theweatheredshepherd.com.  Reflections of a Moravian Bishop.

   .Harrell F. Beck blog.  "The Wisdom of Harrell Beck".  Harrell was a major influence in my life.  He died in 1987; however, some of his former students   periodically post snippets of his writings and reflections.

    .Charles F. Price.  Visit his website and select 'blog'. Charles is a former fraternity brother, now fulfilling life long dream of writing for publication.

     What might you "hear yourself say" were you to write of your interests and observations ?

     Satchel